What exactly is wrong at GE-testing lab?

Green MP Jeanette Fitzsimons is disappointed that the Government has not answered the key questions on the latest GE Corn scare.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF) announced late today that it had suspended its accreditation of US GE-testing laboratory Biogenetic Services Ltd. As a precaution, the Quarantine Service is detaining all seed tested by this lab at the border.

"I was advised by the Minister for the Environment's office that MAF was taking this action," said Ms Fitzsimons, the Green Party Co-Leader and Spokesperson on Genetic Engineering.

"However neither that communication nor MAF's media announcement, including its three-page Q&A, has told me what the actual problem is at Biogenetic Services, so I hope we will see some important questions answered soon.

"One can assume that if seed is being held at the border for retesting, the faults in the lab are serious. New Zealanders deserve to know the full facts."

Questions that need answering include:
* What is wrong with the processes the lab uses?
* How long have they been that way?
* Is this the result of a change in the NZ requirements or in the lab's processes?
* What it is the likelihood that the lab has failed to pick up GE contamination in seed imported into NZ over the last two years?

"Until we know the answers to these questions no real comment is possible," said Ms Fitzsimons.

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